Dundee starlet Lyall Cameron made his Scotland under-21s debut as Scot Gemmill’s side gained a creditable draw in Spain with Euro finalists Norway.
The Dens Park triple Player of the Year came on as a sub at half time and team mate Josh Mulligan started in La Nucia.
And Cameron helped the young Scots improve hugely after a one-sided first half where they were pinned back for most of the game.
In fact, Scotland were denied a winner with the last kick of the ball when Manchester City striker Dire Mebude hit the inside of the post with the last kick of the ball.
#SCO21s | FULL TIME: Norway 0-0 Scotland.
Our Men's Under-21s' first friendly match of the week against Norway ends goalless, despite Dire Mebude hitting the post in the final minutes.
The two sides face off again on Sunday in an 11am kick-off.#YoungTeam pic.twitter.com/x3YM9sXais
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 15, 2023
Gemmill said: “I did expect Dire to score because he is such a good finisher. He scored goals for his club and in training. I am sure he will be disappointed too.
“But it was a good game for us. It was needed, we got four more debuts and I feel the players took a step forward in terms of the new age group looking ahead.
“Tactically, you could see them trying to do what we asked them to do. Physically, they competed.
“I asked the team to be harder to beat and not to concede goals and I saw some top performances defensively.
“I am really positive after that.
The young Scots significantly improved after making nine subs in the second half in La Nucia, including introducing Dee kid Cameron.
But they couldn’t quite manage to find a winner and the Dens Park duo will face Norway again on Sunday, with Dundee United keeper Jack Newman also in the squad.
